Mount Dragon

Guy Carson is a brilliant scientist at GeneDyne, one of the world's foremost biochemical companies. When he is transferred to Mount Dragon, GeneDyne's high-security genetic engineering lab, his good fortune seems too good to be true.

Carson soon finds that it is. He learns that GeneDyne geneticists are tinkering with a common virus with an eye on the enormous profit to be had from a cure for the flu. Their cure involves permanently altering DNA in humans. What's more, Mount Dragon harbors another secret that puts the world at horrifying risk.

I liked the first half of this novel, but the second half was one big long boring chase scene. I was also a tad bored with the author's soapboxing re: genetic engineering. It would've been more interesting if the characters had succeeded in genetically revising humanity's germ cells rather than just debating the ethics of such.

It started off with a bang and ended up being standard potboiler fare.

One Pair of Feet

As the effects of the war raging in Europe begin to be felt at home in London, Monica Dickens decides to do her bit and to pursue a new career, and so enrols as a student nurse at a hospital in rural Hertfordshire. By nature clever and spirited, she struggles to submit to the iron rule of the Matron and Sisters, and is alternately infuriated and charmed by her patients. That’s not to mention the mountains of menial work that are a trainee’s lot.

I've listened to a number of stories about Nursing during the time period, the grueling hours, the difficult co-workers the training, and this is pretty much all that you can expect and more. The writing as well-done, the heroine was engaging and the plot moved along at a brisk pace. I admit I liked it didn't get bogged down with a boring romance, this is all about nursing which was great. Other novels can get sappy with boring and unrealistic romantic plots.

The ending is a cliff-hanger, so it made me wonder where the sequel is. Overall, engaging.

Commitment Hour: League of Peoples, Book 2

In the 25th century, Tober Cove is a wonderful place to be. With most of Earth's population long since departed for other planets, and with them the technology that makes such a journey possible, life here is simple and serene - especially for Fullin, a gifted musician whose talent commands many times the wages of a farmer or fisherman. But Fullin is twenty years old. And at that age, each person in Tober Cove must make the most important decision in life.

I really liked the idea that in this village that the people could swap gender once a year until they hit 20 and are forced to choose. The exact mechanism and mechanics for this are revealed in the last 1 hour of the audio title.

The story attempts to explore the differences in the way gender affects our reality. The main character's point of view shifts between genders affecting his perspective and the way he views the world around him. This is not always a perspective I found enjoyable. At times I found the main character to be unlikeable, sexist and somewhat bloodthirsty. At times the way he feels about his girlfriend/boyfriend comes off as somewhat despicable and contemptible.

The ending was very interesting, but sort of an info-dump. I can't discuss more without spoilers... I guess I can say I liked the title but didn't love it. I felt the story could've been more interesting with a character I really could root for, and with a less violent/despicable actions of the culture involved.

Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants portrayed in Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs, Margaret Powell’s classic memoir of her time in service, Below Stairs, is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high. Powell first arrived at the servants' entrance of one of those great houses in the 1920s. As a kitchen maid - the lowest of the low - she entered an entirely new world; one of stoves to be blacked, vegetables to be scrubbed, mistresses to be appeased, and bootlaces to be ironed.

I enjoyed it. The memoirs of a young woman who wants to become a cook. Be warned, the Servant's hall book contains a lot of similar content to this, so if you buy this one, be careful the sequel has lots of the same material.

Servants' Hall: A Real Life Upstairs, Downstairs Romance

Margaret Powell's Below Stairs became a sensation among listeners reveling in the luxury and subtle class warfare of Masterpiece Theatre's hit television series Downton Abbey. Now in the sequel Servants' Hall, Powell tells the true story of Rose, the under-parlourmaid to the Wardham Family at Redlands, who took a shocking step: She eloped with the family's only son, Mr. Gerald.

I liked the book and it was a worthy listen. However, the author has written 2 stories, this one and below stairs and there is a some rehash of the same content. I was rather disappointed to hear the same stuff twice. I did like the book, and there is some new stuff there, but, I'm not sure I would've bought it if I knew it was basically the same story..

It is worth listening to, especially if you like to read about the lives of servants but if you have already read Below Stairs, be warned there is repeat content in this one.

The Prodigal Daughter

Florentyna Kane inherited a vast hotel empire from her father, but his greatest gift to her was a love of America. She knew from childhood that it was a debt she would someday try to repay by running for the highest political office in the country. Along the path to power Florentyna finds fulfillment in love and family, but still she struggles with the burden of her duty and responsibility. Then, only a heartbeat away from her ultimate goal, she may lose everything in a mire of betrayal.

I was disappointed in this. Too much recap from the previous book. I was more interested in the future than finding out what happens in the character's past. The author dwells at length on her backstory and given there is only 3 hours to go here, I was quite bored.

Beyond the Dark: The Dark Trilogy, Book 3

It has been six weeks since the virus engulfed the world. Everyone who was infected died, and then rose again. Governments collapsed, armies fell, and civilizations turned to dust as the human race tore itself to pieces. The living are in danger of becoming extinct.… Jeff Blaine has witnessed the annihilation of his family and everything that mattered to him. When he steps outside his home for the first time since the world died, he meets Megan, George, and Jason, three other survivors who force him to accept that there may still be a reason to fight and live to see another day.

I listened to the first 2 books and enjoyed them, but this book was simply about crazy Michael and crazy Cindy hunted the main characters through town. There was no real plot unless you consider picking off minor characters one by one to be actual character/plot. I sure don't. Plus too many deaths of children, and descriptions of kid deaths. Yeah I get it. Zombies kill people. I don't need to hear about their bodies being mutilated and children being killed and eaten in gory detail. I know it happens but less detail please. No point in introducing those characters in the first place if you are just going to wax them and go back to the original cast.

Plus, nothing ever happens. They are trapped in town. At the ending they leave the town, nearly the same group that enters.. Part of the fun of a zombie book is getting out and seeing what happened to the world. Being trapped in one place while psycho badies stalk you is rather boring. And plus whats the point of introducing minor characters just to pick them off. You know the main character and his girlfriend won't die, so there really isn't a lot of suspense.

Hated the ending with George. He was a great character. Just never thought him as crazy or suicidal. What a waste of time reading that.

Overall, this series should've been a single book. Broken into 3 parts, the ending felt absurd and more like a bad slasher horror flick.

LYCCYX Episode 1: The Declaration

The year is 2065. Earth is overpopulated and our resources, spent. Our last hope is to colonize the moon. Called the Haven Project - an experiment designed to transform the lunar grit into a rich oasis. Unfortunately, in our haste to create a new world we created our worst enemy - LYCCYX.

I tried. I thought this might make an interesting story, however I felt the narration was very amateurish. I felt like I was being told the story, rather than shown, and although there is only 45 minutes to this audible title, I gave up. I just wasn't interested.

A Voice in the Wilderness: The Human Division, Episode 4

Albert Birnbaum was once one of the biggest political talk show hosts around, but these days he’s watching his career enter a death spiral. A stranger offers a solution to his woes, promising to put him back on top. It’s everything Birnbaum wants, but is there a catch? And does Birnbaum actually care if there is? "A Voice in the Wilderness" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

77 Days in September

On a Friday afternoon before Labor Day, Americans are getting ready for the holiday weekend, completely unaware of a long-planned terrorist plot about to be launched against the country. Kyle Tait is settling in for his flight home to Montana when a single nuclear bomb is detonated 300 miles above the heart of America.

I felt the main character, his wife and kids were pretty generic. There was no real personality to any of the characters. They could've been anybody. There was no real sense of danger. . Main character lurves his wife and goes across the country pulling a cart to reach her. Wife remains steadfast to hubbie, despite not knowing whether he is alive or dead. This just wasn't that exciting. The wife and hubbie were mr. and mr. generic.

What could Ray Gorham have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The characters needed a personality implant. Loving your wife and hubbie do not count as personality traits. They all were just kinda meh.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was fine.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I thought the characters were good people, and I liked the concept. I just thought it lacked oompf and the character development was weak.

Any additional comments?

Perhaps if the protag had been single. Or even if the wife felt hubbie was truly dead this would've been more suspenseful. Wife's unfailing belief hubbie was alive and coming back, just made his return just a matter of time, rather than a big surprise. The magic survival rate of the protags despite doing stupid stuff, gave the main characters a bit of a charmed quality. Nothing bad can happen- because they are the main characters.

Trackers

In the course of an otherwise routine missing person case, private detective Jack Dugan stumbles onto a covert operation that effectively controls everyone on the planet. Through cellular-sized implants, The Council tracks and records where anyone is at any given time without their knowledge. Humankind’s freedom hangs on the ability of a cynical, bicycle-riding PI to operate at a level of intrigue he’s never experienced, battling powers determined to destroy him and the knowledge he gains.

I found the main character bothered me at times. He spends too much time thinking of ways to romance his client instead of solving crime. The romance was cliche too, and honestly rather boring as the heroine was generic and beautiful, but didn't have much else going for her.

There is actually very little mystery, so having him be a PI didn't add anything. The reader is shown what is happening from the protagonist and antagonists's perspective so the main character really doesn't solve anything as he and the listener are told what is happening most of the time. The big bad guy and their plot were resolved too quickly so the suspense and impending peril were kind of anti-climatic.

Overall, this was ok. It could've been better.

Did Michael Bowen do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The voices were decent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really. This is a beach read. Easy enough to listen to, but nothing I felt I HAD to listen to.

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